Discover and master the fundamentals of purchasing by understanding
your strategic and tactical roles as a purchasing practitioner. Improve
your companyís bottom-line profitability by learning and implementing key
concepts such as negotiation, supplier sourcing and qualification, outsourcing
and make-or-buy analysis. Learn the basics of supplier partnerships, capital budgeting and green buying.

In this six-week online course, you will learn how to define internal
customer needs, generate purchase requisitions and purchase orders, expedite,
trace and receive supplier deliveries, maintain effective purchasing records and
create and manage various purchasing budgets. I will help you learn about business law,
contracts, leasing, Six Sigma and total quality management (TQM). You will learn how to recruit,
select and evaluate purchasing personnel, and learn the importance of business ethics.

This course and its followup (Purchasing Applications will help you prepare for the internationally-recognized Certified Purchasing Manager (C.P.M.) and Accredited Purchasing Practitioner (A.P.P.) exams offered by the Institute for Supply Managementô (ISMô).

This course includes a knowledgeable and caring instructor who will guide you through your lessons, facilitate discussions, and answer your questions. The instructor for this course will be Tony Swaim.

Tony Swaim

About the
ExpertRating Online Purchasing Fundamentals Course
instructor :
Becky and Tony Swaim have helped thousands of clients, colleagues, and
students reach organizational and personal goals. Working in the medical,
manufacturing and education fields, the Swaims manage a successful consulting
firm in southern California. Starting her career as a medical administrative
assistant, Becky provides assistance as a program manager to various medical
practices and has managed a large staff in the medical reimbursement field.
Becky earned a Bachelor's of Arts degree in Speech Communication from California
State University, Long Beach. Tony Swaim has been an accomplished online instructor
since 1998. His industry experience includes twenty years of medical device
manufacturing management. Tony's consulting areas are project management, customer
service, total quality and supply chain management. He earned an MBA from California
State University, Long Beach and holds professional certifications in five disciplines.

Testimonials:
The ExpertRating Online Purchasing Fundamentals Course has received
overwhelming positive feedback and reviews from students around the
world. Here are a few:"I enjoyed the course very much and to my satisfaction."

"Hey, thanks a bunch for getting me started on the right foot. I had a lot of fun with the class and look forward to the next one. I am also currently taking Project Management Fundamentals and find that course to be educational and exciting as well. I am working towards my state purchasing certification and your classes are extremely helpful.""The course was outstanding!!!""Thank You Tony. I really enjoyed taking this course. It was very helpful.""I completely enjoyed this class and the teacher's style.""This was my FIRST online class - I can't wait for the second:)""Great class!! I look forward to working with this instructor again in the Purchasing Applications course!""The education was insightful and useful to me. I could tell the instructor knew his topic. I look forward to the next class.""I really enjoyed this course. It not only reinforced and reminded me of the things I already know, but brought new things into perspective.""Great class!! I look forward to working with this instructor again in the Purchasing Applications course!""This is the first time I have participated in an online class. I enjoyed it very much. I am in purchasing now and I hope to advance in the future. You have given me a lot of knowledge. I hope to do as well in the next class.""Great course material. I found it to be very current and applicable to my job. This class encouraged me to continue with my on-going education."

ExpertRating is a trusted name in online testing and certification
with over 200,000 certified professionals in over 60 countries in
more than 200 skill areas. ExpertRating offers its testing services
to the world's best companies such as Convergys Corp, UPS, GAP,
Sony, Coke, Citrix, Deltek Corp, IKEA Systems and Ericsson to name a
few. See
where ExpertRating Certified Professionals are working.

It is very safe to buy from
ExpertRating. Apart from being an ISO 9001:2015 certified company, it is a member of the TRUSTe and HackerSafe approved.

ExpertRating Solutions has been reviewed by TRUSTe for compliance of their strict program requirements ensuring that your information is always safe.
ExpertRating has certified Several thousand individuals who are working with leading companies across the US and
other countries.
View list.

When you choose the ExpertRating Online Purchasing Fundamentals Course you can be sure that you are buying a
premium International certification that is recognized by hundreds
of employers and Government bodies in the US and other countries.

With ExpertRating you get certified
quickly online and you are equipped with a store house of
information through the in-depth ExpertRating Online Purchasing Fundamentals Courseware which has
been developed by experienced Purchasing Fundamentals Administrators.

The ExpertRating Purchasing Fundamentals
Skills Certification is by far the best value for money instructor led
Purchasing Fundamentals Program at $129.99.

Some Popular questions and answers about
this ExpertRating Online Purchasing Fundamentals Course&
Certification:

How much does the
Purchasing Fundamentals Skills Certification cost and what does it include?

You can buy this ExpertRating Online Purchasing Fundamentals Course
leading to
Purchasing Fundamentals Skills certification at a special offer price of only $129.99 which
includes the in-depth ExpertRating Online Purchasing Fundamentals Courseware and exam fee. This is
the best value for money Purchasing Fundamentals Program available till date. You
get the following services within the USD $129.99 fee.

An instructor to guide you through the
course and to whom you can direct your questions.

World wide airmail delivery of the hard
copy Purchasing Fundamentals Certificate. The
Purchasing Fundamentals certificate can be used
to prove your certified status and does not mention the words
"online".

An online transcript that can be used to
prove your certified credentials on the internet at any time.

How do I get certified?

The process of getting yourself certified is very simple. All you have to do is buy the ExpertRating Online Purchasing Fundamentals Course for $129.99. Log in to the instructor led course using your password. Go through the
ExpertRating Online Purchasing Fundamentals Courseware (which would take you 6 weeks) and complete the final
Purchasing Fundamentals Skills Certification exam at your convenience. You can complete the exam within 2 months of buying the
Purchasing Fundamentals Skills Certification. The result of the exam appears as soon as it is completed, and your
Purchasing Fundamentals certificate is mailed immediately.

What learning aids will I get?

The
ExpertRating Online Purchasing Fundamentals Course includes the following learning aids:

24 x 7 hour access to the courseware. A printer friendly version of the
ExpertRating Online Purchasing Fundamentals Course is also provided

A friendly instructor to answer your questions online

A discussion area to have your questions answered

Chapter end quizzes to ensure that you are learning important aspects of every chapter

Chapter assignments to help you practically use the
Purchasing Fundamentals skills that you will learn during the
Purchasing Fundamentals Course.

What is the final exam like?

The final exam is fully based upon the
ExpertRating Online Purchasing Fundamentals Courseware that is provided along with the
Purchasing Fundamentals Skills Certification. If you have gone through the courseware properly you should not have a problem clearing the exam. The exam consists of multiple choice questions from all chapters of the
ExpertRating Online Purchasing Fundamentals Courseware.

What are the course start dates?

ExpertRating instructor led courses commence
every month, you can always choose a suitable date for your course
commencement in any month. To see available course start dates,
please click on the "Enroll now" button. All courses run for six weeks, with a two-week grace period at the end. Two lessons are released each week for the six-week duration of the course. You do not have to be present when the lesson is released, but you must complete each lesson within two weeks of its release.

A new section of each course starts on the second or third Wednesday of each month. If enrolling in a series of two or more courses please be sure to space the start date for each course at least two months apart.

According
to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the highest 10 percent of
the Purchasing Officers earned more than $132,040 a year.

The main job of a
Purchasing Manager, buyer or an agent is to buy either goods or
services for the organization they are working for. The
organization, then, either resells or uses these goods and services
for its own use. As a Purchasing Officer, it is important to
consider the price, quality, reliability, usability and availability
of the product or service you are buying.

The Purchasing
Agents have to keep abreast of the changing market trends, identify
international and domestic suppliers and keep track of the demand
and supply of the required products and services.

Big organizations
and distributors consider candidates with a bachelorís degree. Some
organizations also demand that the candidates have some formal
training and possess bachelorís or even masterís degree in
engineering, business or economics. A professional Certification in
Purchasing will help you enhance your resume. The ExpertRating
Purchasing Applications Certification will help you gain an
understanding of terms like information technology, the principles
of economic forecasting and ways to maintain a quality system.

In this first lesson, you'll learn about the various types of professional purchasing certification, including those offered by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) and the National Institute of Government Purchasing (NIGP). This lesson will explore the breadth of the purchasing body of knowledge and identify several areas where purchasing provides value to organizations. You'll also discover the significance of buying on a total cost basis and learn how savings you generate for purchased materials and services improve your company's bottom-line profitability.

Friday - Lesson 02

In this lesson, you'll
learn how to set a vision and mission statement, and how
to develop objectives and strategies. This lesson will
also discuss the mechanics of creating purchase
requisitions and purchase orders and how to use them
effectively. This lesson will finish up by exploring
different conditions that benefit from negotiation and
the steps and techniques that contribute to a successful
outcome.

Week Two

Wednesday - Lesson 03

All organizations use a purchasing cycle to manage buying activities. To help you effectively manage purchasing activities, this lesson presents a seven step-cycle that begins with need recognition and ends with receipt of delivery. It will discuss the first five steps in depth, and see how specifications, branding, and samples are three common methods for defining user needs. You'll also learn about four different forms of competition (monopoly, oligopoly, full competition, and perfect competition) and see how competition affects prices.

Friday - Lesson 04

This lesson will conclude the exploration of the purchasing cycle by discussing steps six and seven (perform follow-up and receive the delivery). Then it will examine expediting, follow-up, and tracing as methods to enhance on-time deliveries. You'll also learn how purchasing supports the receiving function and discover the underlying concepts of make or buy and leasing.

Week Three

Wednesday - Lesson 05-

As a purchasing professional, you depend on your suppliers. After all, without capable suppliers, it would be very difficult (if not impossible) to meet your organization's needs. So
this lesson will discuss the importance of proper source selection, and how to prepare a prospective supplier list. You'll find out how to evaluate each supplier-sourcing element and determine when to conduct a supplier visit.

Friday - Lesson 06

Green buying is an extremely important organizational concept. Firms that use it successfully achieve internal objectives and also satisfy societal goals. This lesson will discuss the purpose of green buying and review its 3Rs (reduce, reuse, and recycle). To help you locate historical information when you need it, this lesson will investigate the various types of purchasing records and discuss electronic record keeping and reporting. You'll also learn all about competitive bidding and understand how to use a request for quotation (RFQ) or a request for proposal (RFP).

Week Four

Wednesday - Lesson 07

This lesson will discuss
important legal matters that purchasing professionals
encounter daily. It will begin by looking at business
law and then move on to talk about contracts. You'll
learn about the principal-agency relationship and the
four major forms of organization (sole proprietorships,
general partnerships, limited partnerships, and
corporations).

Friday - Lesson 08

Suppliers rely on manufacturing and quality systems. Purchasing professionals need to know about these systems because their use (successful or unsuccessful) highly influences suppliers' abilities to fill your purchase orders on-time, with quality, and at a desirable price.
This lesson will look at Six Sigma and Total Quality Management (TQM), and identify how these philosophies and methodologies benefit organizations. You'll learn about the elements of a supply chain, Manufacturing Resource Planning (MRP II), and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP).

Week Five

Wednesday - Lesson 09

Purchasing, as a major organizational function, is involved with a number of different types of budgets. These budgets include the purchasing department administration budget (also known as an expense budget), the production materials budget, and the maintenance, repair, and operating (MRO) budget. To use budgets wisely, you need to know how they work, what they are supposed to accomplish, and how they are constructed. In this lesson, you'll discover the primary purposes, advantages, and disadvantages of budgets. This lesson will cover how to select a budget period, review variable budgets, and understand budget variances.

Friday - Lesson 10

For many organizations, capital expenditures represent the largest disbursement of funds. And purchasing practitioners play a number of roles in capital budgeting including assisting with requests for capital expenditures, serving on capital budget evaluation committees, and leading teams to acquire capital assets.
This lesson will help you effectively participate in these activities. You'll learn the definition of capital budgeting, understand the initiation process for capital request proposals, and examine different justification methods for project proposals.

Week Six

Wednesday - Lesson 11

A supplier partnership is a fairly recent type of arrangement. It characterizes a progressive way for sellers and buyers to work together. Supplier partnerships require an extensive amount of preparation and commitment, but the payoff is substantial for firms that succeed.
This lesson will discuss the prerequisites and elements of a supplier partnership. It will also explore ethics and organizational politics and study their effects on purchasing practitioners.

Friday - Lesson 12

In the final lesson, you'll discover how to recruit, select, and evaluate purchasing personnel. Then you'll learn how to implement a performance planning process, including administering performance reviews. And finally, you'll find out why so many people dislike giving performance reviews and get tips on how to make your reviews more meaningful.